


some day soon.

by autisticlalna (mathonwys)



Series: DSMP-2 AU [2]
Category: Dream SMP - Fandom, Minecraft (Video Game)
Genre: Clay | Dream Redemption (Video Blogging RPF), DSMP-2 AU, Gen, Mild Angst, Nonhuman Clay | Dream (Video Blogging RPF), Not RPF, Pandora's Vault Prison, Prison Arc (Dream SMP), Self-Insert, no beta we die like wilbur, takes place before the prison lockdown (which doesnt happen)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-25
Updated: 2021-02-25
Packaged: 2021-03-17 16:00:22
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,516
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29968812
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mathonwys/pseuds/autisticlalna
Summary: “I don’t know why you keep visiting me.”“Someonehas to.”-at what point does someone go past the point of no return?(a newcomer to the server still thinks Dream is capable of change.)
Series: DSMP-2 AU [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2204193
Kudos: 5





	some day soon.

**Author's Note:**

> i am, unfortunately, someone who would really like to see a dream redemption arc. HOWEVER at this point i know canon!dream is way too far gone and i dont even want to touch him with a stick, so. 
> 
> that being said, i still wrote a fic with my main self-insert bullying dream into a redemption arc, because ive been having a terrible past couple months and this is how im coping now apparently
> 
> SEVERAL ARTWORK LINKS WHOOPS:  
> artwork of Leonaut (along with his disaster sibling): https://autisticlalna.tumblr.com/post/643932888863227904/  
> the design im using for Dream in this au: https://autisticlalna.tumblr.com/post/644931625644326912/  
> also a comic that takes place before this: https://autisticlalna.tumblr.com/post/643948032862437376/

“I don’t know why you keep visiting me.”

“ _Someone_ has to.” Leonaut uncrossed his legs and shifted his weight a bit as he tried to get more comfortable. The obsidian under him was a dark, glassy expanse that encased the entire room; cracks of shimmering wet purple snaked over the floor, walls, and ceiling and dripped a cold liquid that evaporated on contact. The light from the glowstone set in the walls— the only thing breaking up the black asides from the netherite barrier that’d been lowered and the pit of water in the far corner— scattered across the surface in dizzying patterns that were overwhelmed by the blaring heat and vibrant light from the lava waterfall at his back.

He hated it in here. It was claustrophobic, he didn’t trust the cracked and crying obsidian under his feet, and the furnace-like heat of the lava made him feel like he was standing too close to the sun. Plus, he was getting really sweaty and gross under his hoodie. Once again, the thought of him taking off the jacket came to mind, but he needed the weight and security right now in this isolated void of a place.

Dream sat across from him. The orange prison uniform he’d been crammed into was rumpled and a bit singed around the edges; his expression was static as always, just a permanent smile that Leonaut couldn’t see through. All he had to work off of was tone of voice. He’d never been the best at reading body language unless it was exaggerated like his own, and Dream played his cards close to his chest, even in here.

“You could be doing anything else,” Dream told him. “ _Literally_ anything.” Even though Leonaut couldn’t tell for sure, the redhead was still certain Dream was watching him. There was something about him that felt like he was being stared at with a piercing gaze, even if all he had to look at was a smiley face. It was a feeling that made him uncomfortable on a deep level, and he was pretty sure Dream knew that. “You don’t even know me. You weren’t here when I…“

He trailed off. Leonaut knew what he was going to say, but didn’t fill in the blanks for him. Some things were better left unsaid.

Leonaut shrugged. “Yeah, but…“ He cleared his throat, voice scratchy. “Everybody… everybody needs a chance, right?”

“ _Everybody?_ ” Dream echoed. Leonaut tucked his hands into his sleeves. “You can’t be serious.”

_Do you really think he can still change?_ Woosh’s voice said. _Don’t let him get into your head,_ Sam had warned him. _Why do you care? Why do you bother? Why do you keep doing this?_

“I _am_ ,” Leonaut snapped. His voice was harsher than he intended; Dream recoiled just the slightest at his tone, then settled back into his ambivalent slouch just as fast. “You can’t— you can’t just be a two-dimensional supervillain! You’ve got people out there who care about you, you’ve got—“

“They don’t care about me,” Dream sniped back. “They care about the _old_ Dream.” Resentment bled into his voice, and it was Leonaut’s turn to lean back as Dream hunched over. “They miss someone I’m not. They like having power over me, they like getting _revenge_. The only reason they haven’t disposed of me already is because I have something they need.”

“But you miss them anyway,” Leonaut replied in a soft voice. Dream stayed tense, but didn’t interject. “You told me how you liked getting to see Bad and Sapnap— and how you wished you were able to fix things. How you’ve got _regrets_.”

Leonaut’s face was half-hidden in shadow, just from how he was sitting and how the prison cell was lit, but the soft cyan glow from his half-lidded eyes was clear. “Shitty people don’t _regret_ the things they do.” He tried to meet Dream’s eyes. He wasn’t sure if it worked. “They tell themselves it’s justified, that they were in the right— they blame everybody else in their path. They might _say_ they regret it, but they just regret what they lose.”

“And what makes you think that I’m not regretful just because I’m locked up?” Dream cocked his head to one side. Leonaut’s wings ruffled— he felt like he was under a microscope. “I know what everyone’s been telling you, Leo. Why don’t you listen to them?”

“Because—“ Leonaut’s voice faltered.

“They’re going to hate you,” Dream continued. “You know that, right? Even if I _do_ change, they’re never going to believe it. They’re never going to believe _you_.” He looked down at the floor and inhaled, breathing shaky in a way Leonaut had only heard from him a couple of times. “You’re better off forgetting this ‘project’. It’s only going to hurt you.”

“…you care.”

Dream looked up. “Hm?”

“Because you _care_ ,” Leonaut repeated. “They’re not obstacles anymore— You care about them! You want things to go back to how they used to be— you want to be friends, and you know it’s because _you_ messed up, not them! And—“ He gripped the fabric of his sleeves. “—because you care about _me_. If— If you were using me, like everybody says, you wouldn’t be trying to talk me out of it. You’d be driving a wedge between me and them, telling me not to trust them, telling me they’re wrong about you, but all you’ve ever done is say they’re _right_.” His voice cracked at the end, and he had to take a couple moments to steady himself. Ugh, he hated how he cried so easily. What a mess.

“You barely know me,” Dream pointed out again. His voice had a twinge of _something_ to it that Leonaut couldn’t identify. “It’s not safe for you to—“

“ _Yes!_ ” Leonaut launched to his feet to tower over Dream. Even at his full height, he barely matched Dream when they were both standing up, but he’d take what he could get. “You _care_! You care about people, you care about the SMP— You told yourself you didn’t, over and over! You told yourself attachments are bad, over and over! You threw away _everything_ because you thought that was what you wanted, but it _wasn’t_!”

His voice echoed through the cell as he shouted down at the prisoner. Dream looked up at him, unreadable as always. Leonaut’s tirade continued: “I’m giving you a _chance_ because I know this isn’t all you are! I’m giving you a chance because people gave _me_ a chance! _I want you to get_ **_better_** _, Dream!_ ”

“You’re insane,” Dream mumbled. Leonaut slumped over, fists clenched tight and shoulders shaking as he tried to calm himself back down. “You know that _is_ the definition of insanity, right? Doing the same thing, over and over, expecting a different outcome?”

Leonaut wiped at his face with one sleeve. “I know,” he said, flat. His sleeve was damp from unfortunate tears, and he scowled a little at the sight before turning his attention back to Dream. “Trust me, _I know_. But— you’ve told me that if you could turn back time, if you could rewind, you’d take the chance to be a better person to those you hurt. That’s _progress_. That means you care. You don’t say ‘oh, I wish I hadn’t told Punz everything’, you say ‘I wish I’d actually been a good friend to Tommy’.”

He exhaled. “You’re a good person under the mask, Dream. You try to be the big scary badguy you think the SMP needs, but under all that you’re still somebody that treasures the friendships you had.”

“It doesn’t matter,” Dream said after a long pause. He leaned back and spread his hands. “I’m never leaving Pandora’s Vault. Even if they get what they want out of me. They can’t risk letting me out— I’m a prisoner forever.”

Leonaut chewed on his bottom lip. “Not forever,” he said, voice unsteady. “Not… not forever. If I can prove to Sam— if _you_ can prove to Sam you’ve changed, that you’re not a threat anymore… then, maybe, he’ll let you out.” He didn’t sound too confident in his own words, and he was sure Dream picked up on that.

“Visit is over, Leonaut.” Sam’s voice startled him with the volume, and Leonaut full-body flinched. Dream got to his feet, but didn’t approach. “Time’s up. You know how to leave.” Leonaut took a few moments to steady himself again— breathe in, breathe out— before trudging over to the pool in the corner.

Dream’s head turned and tracked him as he walked by. Leonaut shuffled in place and braced himself; yet again, as he’d done on several visits before this one, he wondered why Sam couldn’t just send the bridge over again. The sheer amount of death he had to go through nearly put him off visiting at all, and he knew Dream was watching as he pulled up his remaining life count to reassure himself.

“Some day soon,” the redhead promised as he lowered his arm, “you’ll get out of here.”

Dream cocked his head to the side. “Some day soon.”


End file.
